Fall Lasagna

This is a vegetarian meal, but you can easily make it vegan by substituting vegan cheese. We love Italian food in our house, so we try to make it as healthy as possible... since too much Italian can make us look like the bigger chef on Lady and the Tramp! :)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups peeled and diced pumpkin
• 2/3 cup broken walnuts
• 1 eggplant, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
• 4-5 tomatoes, cubed and de-seeded
• 1 pint ricotta cheese (or a vegan cheese)
• 9 ounces crumbled feta cheese (or tempeh)
• 1 1/3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (or tofu cheese)
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (or other vegan cheese)
• 2/3 cup pesto
• 2 eggs, beaten (for ovo-vegetarians, otherwise, use Ener-G or 1/2 a small green banana)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce (or fresh, self made)
• fresh pasta sheets

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place pumpkin on a baking sheet and roast in oven until browned and tender, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, grill eggplant on a charcoal grill or fry in a skillet, turning once, until charred and tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Place  tomatoes on baking sheet in oven for last 15 minutes of pumpkin time; cook until tender and wrinkly.

In a medium bowl, stir together ricotta, feta, pesto, eggs, salt and pepper until well mixed. Fold roasted pumpkin into ricotta mixture.Beginning with the tomato sauce, layer tomato sauce, pasta, eggplants, and cheese mixture into 9x13 pan. Exchange tomato for the eggplants in the second layer. Finish with some sauce (or tomatoes if you have any left) and mozzarella.

Bake in preheated oven 30 to 40 minutes, until golden and bubbly.